On 7 October the trial of the activist
of the United Civil Party Dzianis Rabianok came to an end in the town
of Kalinkavichy. According to the court ruling, Mr. Rabianok was
found guilty of violating article 9.1 of the Code of Administrative
Offenses. Nevertheless, the administrative proceedings against him
were dropped due to the expiry of the legal terms of bringing to
administrative responsibility.

Bear in mind that on 13 April
Dzianis Rabianok was attacked by a neighbor, who sprayed pepper spray
into his eyes. As a result, the young man received a chemical burn of
the eyes, which was recorded in the hospital.

However, the
Kalinkavichy District Police Department brought a case against Mr.
Rabianok, accusing him of beating the neighbor. Despite his appeals
to the head of the DPD and the prosecutor, the case was passed to the
court.

In June the court found the activist guilty and fined
him 1 million rubles. He appealed the verdict to the Homel Regional
Court, after which it was overturned and the case was returned for a
review by another judge. The activist calls the court verdict
controversial and inconsistent. "Throughout the trial, the
judge, at first glance, was trying to fix all the defects, pointed by
the Homel Regional Court. However, it was done only formally.
Eloquent evidence of this is the questioning of a nurse and a medic
of the ambulance. They confirmed that I had bodily injuries and that
I was unable to do anything to my neighbor as I couldn't event open
my eyes. The judge asks me questions, clarifies something, and then
reads out the ruling, which has been printed in advance. What is the
purpose of such proceedings?” wonders Dzianis Rabianok.

He
doesn't consider himself guilty. “There are two witnesses on my
part who confirm that I was a victim and didn't hit the neighbor. As
it was confirmed by an expert during the trial, my bodily injuries
could appear before 13 April, as well as after it. When the regional
court reversed the initial verdict, it pointed to the district court
that the judge failed to explain why he believed to the testimonies
of the witnesses on the part of the accusation and didn't accept the
testimonies of others (on the part of the defense). As witnessed by
the last hearing, the new verdict also tells nothing about this
utterly important question,” adds the activist.

Dzianis
Rabianok will decide whether to appeal against the court verdict at
the regional court after he receives a copy of it.